Republican State Party Chairman Chris Healy said Tuesday he will file a formal complaint with the state Judicial Branch's Statewide Grievance Committee against Democratic Secretary of the State candidate Denise Merrill, saying she has misepresented herself as an attorney.

Responding to a Sunday Courant column, which can be read by clicking here, Healy said that Merrill, a state representative from Mansfield who is the state House majority leader, "has claimed in her official biography on her official website, her campaign website and printed materials that she is an attorney even though her law license in California has been inactive for over 30 years."

"Merrill has tried to cover her tracks by placing an 'asterisk' to denote her law status in California," Healy said in a statement, but "placing a notation doesn't excuse breaking the rules. Denise Merrill is a high ranking lawmaker and she should know the law - you can't call yourself an attorney if you are not recognized by the state."

A Merrill spokesman, Patty McQueen, called Healy "a career political hack" and said his comments are "frivolous and misinformed."

A campaign brochure for Merrill this year said: "A mother, teacher, attorney and new grandmother, Denise brought her real-world experience to the Legislature, where she was eventually elected by her colleagues to serve as Majority Leader." Her majority leader's biography on the state House Democrats' Internet website said she is "an attorney and a former high school teacher."

Merrill obtained a license to practice law in California in 1979 under a procedure available in that state -- in which you work as an apprentice in a law firm and take the state bar exam, without needing to graduate from law school. She attended a San Francisco law school that is not accredited by the American Bar Association. Her law license in California became "inactive" Jan. 1, 1980, eight months after she obtained it, and she acknowledges that she has not practiced law since.

Connecticut has a law saying that if a person hasn't been admitted to the state's bar, he or she can't "assume, use, or advertise the title of lawyer, attorney and counselor-at-law ... or an equivalent term, in such a manner as to convey the impression that he is a legal practitioner of law."

It is that law which Healy said he plans to file his complaint about with the Statewide Grievance Committee. Mark DuBois, chief disciplinary counsel for the state, who handles such complaints, declined comment Tuesday. He said his office never confirms or denies if a complaint has been received. The law says a violation is punishable by a $250 fine or as much as two months in prison, but DuBois has said in the past that violators generally are sent letters telling them to "cease and desist."

When Merrill was asked about the matter last Thursday, she said it's accurate to call herself a lawyer. "It's just like a doctor is a doctor," no matter whether she is licensed in the state where she now lives, Merrill said.

A day later, after she did some checking on her own, she had an asterisk put into her biography on her campaign website. It now says: "Before I ran for the House of Representatives I worked as an attorney* and high school teacher." At the bottom it said: "(*Licensed to practice in California)." Also on Friday, the biography on her House Democrats website was updated to say she is "an attorney (licensed in CA only) and a former high school teacher."

Merrill said that she clarified the listings after talking with people, including someone in DuBois' office; she said that person didn't make it all sound quite so strict. Still, Merrill said, she made the changes "in the interest of being absolutely sure" that no one gets the wrong impression."

"I certainly never intended to mislead anyone," she said, adding that she has been "very careful" when talking to people during this year's campaign to specify that she doesn't actively practice law, and was never licensed in Connecticut, but only in California.

Healy was not satisfied with that clarification Tuesday. "Denise Merrill did pass the California bar, but she never engaged in the practice of law in a solo capacity or with a firm or group," he said. "Yet she continued to tell voters she was a lawyer when she knew that wasn't the case. This gets to character. How can we trust Denise Merrill to enforce our election laws if she doesn't follow the laws?"

Healy said Merrill's status in California is "inactive" and California State Bar Regulations say that "inactive members are not entitled to hold office or vote or practice law." .

"Denise Merrill does not hold an active law license, and therefore, she is not licensed to practice in California or in Connecticut," Healy said. "As a prominent political leader, it is inexcusable for someone to take such liberties and think no one will find out," he said.

Merrill's spokesman, McQueen, issued this statement in response: "Chris Healy's claims are frivolous and misinformed. The Connecticut statute he invokes is about the practice of law and is aimed at preventing people who are not lawyers from soliciting business. This issue is about Denise Merrill's credentials. She has never said she practiced law in Connecticut, only that she is a lawyer, which she is.

"As a young mother, Denise Merrill worked hard to pass the California bar, and she's proud of the accomplishment. She chose to leave that state to leave the state to raise children. She is an attorney in good standing and if she pays a $300 fee, she can practice there tomorrow. Why wouldn't she include that on her resume?

"Chris Healy is a career political hack, whose only goal is advancing his party agenda. The voters of Connecticut are worried about keeping their jobs, and this is exactly the kind of attack that turns them off."

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6 Comments

She is an attorney...and it seems that since she hasn't practiced civil or business law here in ct she would not need a ct license. She has been a legislator, and a successful one. Perhaps that's the problem Healy is having. Healy seems to just look for anything to cut someone down... shame on him. I believe he has enough lies and coverups with his own party to deal with. Come on, enough of this junk - get on with the issues and what are you going to do for the electorate.

He said his office never confirms or denies if a complaint has been received. The law says a violation is punishable by a $250 fine or as much as two months in prison, but DuBois has said in the past that violators generally are sent letters telling them to "cease and desist."

Wow, lawyers really treat their fellow lawyers pretty well. If someone said they were an insurance agent, and were found not to be, BlumenSue would go for blood until that person ran out of money.
And they never confirm or deny a complaint? Oh, that must be convenient. What ever happened to public information? If someone complains about me, the insurance department lists it, even if they say there was no finding of wrongdoing.

Did she earn a law degree? Did she pass the bar? Whether she is actively practicing or not doesn't mean she isn't entitled to call herself an attorney. It sounds like petty politics at work again. Surely the Republicans can find plenty of real issues to fire the voters up about. Go away you silly little man.

I'm a life-long Democrat, but it looks like Merrill is dead wrong on this. The Courant quoted the CT law. Merrill can't legally "use" the word lawyer or attorney to describe herself, because she is not licenced to practice law. She's wrong and she's breaking the law. Fess up and make the correction by removing the claim. When you get caught doing something, appologize & correct your error. I never trust a person who can't admit when they are wrong, but instead argues that the rule doesn't apply to them.

About 25 years ago in college I send in $5 to a place that had an ad in the back of a Rolling Stone magazine and they sent me a certificate that now I'm a Minister in their church. Unlike Ms. Merrill I don't put it on my resume.